Is there a place this year for robots that cant hurdle?

[Guy Davidson]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

In the early weeks, I feel that bots unable to hurdle will have a larger role, particularly (as just mentioned), as nuisances. Keeping balls away from the effective herders will be ever bit as important (if not more so) than them doing laps.

I think this is where Sean hit the nail on its head, or so to speak. In the early weeks, as always, there will probably be a shortage of robot that work. The speedy bots will have an advantage there, as they are only trying to get a drive train (and maybe a ball knocker) working, so there's probably a higher probability of those bots working well.

As the weeks go on, more and more robots will achieve their full potential, in which case there will be less of a market for lap runners, unless they are extraordinary (see 148, 1519). I know that unless the lap runner is amazing, I'd rather have a backup hurdler in case one breaks, because it can shuttle balls at least as well (presumably having a mechanism to posses balls) and giving us a backup, and an open door to alternate strategies. When you have only two, or even just one hurdler, you're pretty much boxed into a specific robot hurdling. By the later regionals, especially the deep ones (Florida, Finger Lakes, Toronto, Great Lakes come to mind), any strategy flexibility you could get will probably be well worth it.